Located in the scenic northeastern corner of the state, just 30 minutes from Hartford, 90 minutes from Boston, and two hours from New York City by car, Connecticut’s Countryside is a special destination with an abundance of things to explore and experience. It’s also a great place to live, learn, work, and start or grow a business.

An Action Plan for Economic Vitality prepared for the four Connecticut towns of Bolton, Coventry, Mansfield and Tolland by AdvanceCT (an agency of the State Department of Economic & Community Development) recommended that the region could better promote its assets to encourage visitor attraction and business growth. It identified that the region has significant opportunities to be seen as a desirable destination to dine, shop and play, based upon its distinctive combination of resources across the four towns. These resources include outdoor recreation, agriculture and agri-tourism, culture and entertainment, higher education institutions, and small businesses and entrepreneurs. The plan also recommended that the region could better promote its assets, both digitally and physically, to encourage visitor attraction and business recruitment.

As a result, the four towns hired DKA to create a branding initiative for the region. The goal was to develop a new collective brand identity and marketing recommendations for the region as a destination. Through our process of direction-setting, creative development, public opinion research, and strategic marketing planning, the Connecticut’s Countryside brand emerged as the preferred option by an overwhelming majority of community stakeholders and residents. DKA then developed the marketing launch plan, including a brochure and video.